Currently, Lula’s government is looking for sources of funding to carry out its policies and the Secretary of Economic Reforms of the Ministry of Finance, Marcos Barbosa Pinto, stated that the government intends to resume exploitation of the Exclusive Instant Lottery (Lotex), popularly known as ” scratchcards“. The reintroduction of Lotex could generate an annual collection of BRL 3 billion for the public treasury.
According to Barbosa, the revitalization of Lotex will be included in the Provisional Measure that will regularize sports betting in the country. The expectation is that with the taxation of this sector and the relaunch of the scratch cards, the Brazilian government can raise between R$ 12 billion and R$ 15 billion annually.
Government fails to collect much without scratchcards
Barbosa also commented on failed attempts to privatize Lotex in the recent past. He pointed out that, this time, the exploitation of scratchcards will be conducted by Caixa Econômica Federal, which already has the necessary tools to carry out this activity.
“Lotex has not been exploited. The country has failed to collect important resources with this lottery. We want to resume Lotex, for it to be operated again, at least temporarily, by Caixa Econômica Federal and, with that, for us to return to collecting. We expect to raise almost BRL 3 billion a year with the return of this lottery”, explained the Secretary.
Despite being an interesting proposal, the Exclusive Instant Lottery will have to face strong competition in the national gaming market, since in recent years several very attractive entertainment alternatives have emerged in this sector.
The sports betting scenario in Brazil
Barbosa also spoke about the taxation of sports betting: “The reality that we have today in Brazil is that the sports betting service has been provided to Brazilian society by companies outside the country without paying any tax”.
The federal government intends to tax the sector fairly, following the main international practices in this market. With this, companies that offer this type of service in Brazil will be regulated and will have to pay taxes due to the country.
It is important to note that sports betting platforms have been able to operate in Brazil since 2018, when Law 13,756 was approved by then President Michel Temer. At the time, a maximum period of four years was established for the sports betting sector to be regulated in the country.
In addition, companies that wanted to operate in the Brazilian market while the regulation was not concluded should be headquartered abroad, since the country still does not allow the exploration of betting games in physical establishments.
